Fascinating life experiences of a group of mature men in Craigavon are to form a new book

The dozen or so men are members of the Health In Mind Group set up by the Fitzone helping support mature men from the greater Craigavon area to become aware of the importance of developing and maintaining healthy mental and physical attitude, through a wide range of social activities.

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Members meet each Monday morning and have breakfast, cooked by themselves, with food supplied by both the Fitzone and local businesses. Sean Collins from Fitzone said: "The group activities include lectures and discussions on benefit entitlement, health, financial and legal matters. We also have organised trips to local industries, and historical sites.

"We engage in many activities such as sporting, and arts and crafts, depending on abilities,” said Sean.

"We began a project one year ago, with the invaluable leadership of Martelle McPartland, of writing a story of our reminiscences and life experiences.

"The stories, written by members of the group are immensely powerful, some are life changing and near-death experiences.”

Tony said: "Writing my stories brought back so many memories of the past both good and bad. There were parts of my past I found difficult to deal with, but working with Martelle, our mentor, who is helping us construct the book, I have been able to recollect details from my experiences. I feel in some ways writing my story has helped me, as I have not fully dealt with some of these issues,” said one of the men.

Gordon said: “The reason I put my story forward for the book was my experience with severe Covid. I felt it would be good to let people know how severe Covid can affect you. Working within the group made it easier to talk about my experience.”

Viv said: “My story is based on true events and has been told repeatedly throughout the last fifty years in my family. Having the book published would leave a legacy for us all that can be passed down to future generations.”

They have a small amount of sponsorship raised but if you could help with fundraising, call Sean on 07780 812 312.